Clothes drying rack

ABSTRACT

A clothes drying rack including a free standing frame that supports a plurality of rods from which articles of clothing can be suspended. Specifically, the clothes drying rack includes a plurality of rods wherein each rod has corrugated exterior to facilitate passage of air between the clothing and the rod.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a clothing rack that can be used for dryingclothes.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

It is common practice to dry clothes by exposing the recently washedclothes to the atmosphere preferably outdoors. Clothes lines of varioustypes have been proposed from which the garments are suspended, usuallyby use of clothes pegs. There have also been proposals for portableracks from which the clothes can be suspended. Racks have the advantagethat they take up less room than a clothes line and can be used in anindoor environment.

It is considered that there is a need to improve the versatility of aclothing rack by means of increasing its manoeuvrability, rending therack easy to assemble and disassemble and ensuring good dryingefficiency. The rack should be easy to use and durable, capable ofresisting damage due to moisture and exposure to sunlight.

It is these issues that have brought about the present invention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a clothingrack comprising a free standing frame that supports a plurality of rodsfrom which clothing can be suspended, characterised in that each rod hasa corrugated exterior to facilitate passage of air between the clothingand the rod.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

An embodiment of the present invention will now be described by way ofexample only with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is the perspective view of a clothing rack in accordance with thepresent invention supporting an array of clothing,

FIGS. 2A and 2B are perspective views of the clothing rack in apartially collapsed and collapsed configuration,

FIG. 3A is a perspective view of the clothing rack,

FIG. 3B is an enlarged view of a corrugated rod that forms part of therack,

FIG. 4A is a side elevation of the rack,

FIG. 4B is a plan view of the rack,

FIG. 4C is an enlarged cross-section view of the area inside circle B ofFIG. 4A,

FIG. 5A is an end elevation of the rack,

FIG. 5B has an enlarged cross-sectional view of the area inside thecircle C of FIG. 5A,

FIG. 6A is an end elevation of the rack, and

FIG. 6B is an enlarged view of the area within the circle D of FIG. 6A.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The clothing rack 10 illustrated in the accompanying drawingsessentially comprises a series of metal frame members 20, 30 & 40 thatsupport nine equally spaced parallel rods 50 from which clothing can besuspended as shown in FIG. 1. The frame members include a lower framemember 20, a pair of vertical columns 30 and two horizontal upper framemembers 40 that support the rods 50. As shown in FIG. 3B the rods 50having longitudinal corrugations 51. The vertical columns 30 can bedetached from the upper and lower frame members 40, 20 to allow theclothing rack 10 to assume a disassembled configuration as shown in FIG.2B where the upper frame member 40 and lower frame member 20 are placedin abutting parallel contact with the vertical columns 30 extendinghorizontally. This allows the assembly to be stored in either a verticalor horizontal configuration.

The lower frame member 20 comprises two parallel elongate beams 21, 22that have their ends connected to beams 23, 24 that respectivelyconstitute the feet of the rack. The ends of each foot 23, 24 have acastor wheel 25 clipped into an aperture on the underside of the beam sothat, as shown in the drawings, the whole rack is readily movable aboutthe castor wheels 25 that are free to rotate through 360° about avertical axis. Each foot 23, 24 of the lower frame member 20 has anupstanding lug 26 which is adapted to fit into the end of an openrectangular beam that constitutes the vertical column 30.

The upper frame member 40 has beams 41, 42 that form the arms andsupport for the corrugated rods 50. As shown in FIG. 5B each armincludes a centrally positioned location block 43 that is secured to theunderside of the beam 41 or 42 by a pair of spaced rivets 44, 45 thatextend through the beam. The location block 43 is arranged to be asliding fit into the upper end of the vertical column 30 and a grubscrew 46 extends through the column and into the block to secure theassembly together.

As shown in FIG. 4C the connection of the corrugated rod 50 onto thebeams or side arms 41, 42 is by means of an insert 60 that has acorrugated outer periphery 61 so that it is a smooth sliding fit withinthe internal corrugated surface of the rod 50. The interface between thecorrugations 51 prevents relative axial rotation of the insert 60 in therods 50. The projecting cylindrical end 62 of the insert 60 is steppeddown to extend through an aperture 63 in the walls of the beam 42 andthere is a further stepped down shank 64 that extends through a smalleraperture 66 in the outer wall. The material is then compressed by ariveting technique to provide a riveted head 67 which rests against theouter surface of the beam 42 to prevent removal of the insert 60 fromthe beams. Thus the location of the corrugated rods 50 on each beam 41,42 effectively fixes the rods in a firm and substantially rigidconnection to the beams that constitute the upper frame member 40.

FIG. 3 illustrates the corrugated nature of each rod 50. Thecorrugations 51 are elongate and define an air space between theclothing and the rod to improve ventilation and thus the dryingfunction. The air space also ensures against the build up of moisturethat might cause corrosion on the exterior surface of the rods 50. Thefacility to allow air to be in close vicinity to the contact points tothe clothes on the rods improves the drying feature and reduces thelikelihood of staining by dampness or corrosion.

The component parts of the clothing rack 10 described above arepreferably constructed from aluminium. The frame members 20, 40 arerectangular cross-sectional aluminium tubing and the corrugated rods 50would be extruded in aluminium. It is however understood that thecomponents of the clothing rack 10 could be manufactured from othermaterials such as plastics or steel or even wood. The vertical columns30 are secured to the upper and lower frames 40, 20 by use of grubscrews that extend through the wall of the column to threadedly engagethe location flange or lug on which the column locates. Thus todisassemble the unit it is a simple matter to simply remove the grubscrews and pull the upper and lower frames 40, 20 from the verticalcolumns 30. Fold down the columns as shown in FIG. 2 a and place theupper frame 40 on the lower frame 20 to assume the flattenedconfiguration as shown in FIG. 2 b. The absence of welds gives the racka cleaner image which is considered visually attractive.

The corrugation of the rods 50 also increases the overall strength ofthe rods and provides the clothing rack 10 with increased rigidity.

1. A clothing rack for drying clothing comprising a free standing framethat supports a plurality of rods from which clothing can be suspended,wherein each rod has an exterior comprising a plurality of axiallyextending corrugations to facilitate passage of air between the clothingand the rod by defining an air space between the clothing and the rod,wherein the frame includes a base frame and an upper frame joined bycolumns, wherein the upper frame comprises a pair of arms connectedacross the opposite ends of a plurality of mutually parallel rods,wherein each end of each rod is connected to the respective arm by aninsert located within the adjacent end of the rod and fastened to thearm, and wherein the interior of each rod and the exterior of the insertare correspondingly corrugated.
 2. The clothing rack according to claim1, wherein the base frame and the upper frame are dismountable from thecolumns for storage.
 3. The clothing rack according to claim 2 whereinthe base frame is supported by castor wheels.
 4. The clothing rackaccording to claim 1 wherein the insert is riveted to the arm.
 5. Theclothing rack according to claim 1, wherein columns are attached to theupper and base frames by locating the ends of the columns on lugsprojecting from the upper and base frames and using grub screws to holdthe columns to the lugs.
 6. The clothing rack according to claim 5,wherein the frames and rods are manufactured in aluminum.
 7. A clothingrack according to claim 6, wherein the lugs of the upper frame arebolted to the frame.